For anyone that knows me well knows that I love a good clear out, a clear house means a clear mind! And at this time of year, when Mr Sunshine starts to makes more of an appearance, what better time to have a big spring clean.

The more and more I try to juggle being a mum and wife, the day job and my wonderful creative business, the more I seek a work space of my own. Somewhere I can store all of my lovely yarns, workshop supplies, and inspiring books away from the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life.

At the moment my creative world appears all over the house, there are baskets and baskets of yarn everywhere. Whilst it's nice to have all of my things to hand, I'm beginning to feel bogged down by the shear amount. I need to de-clutter my home and my mind.

It felt so good to bring all of my stash together in one place and have a good sort out. Now that I am designing more of my own patterns its so important to keep track of what yarn brands, types and amounts I'm using so it was out with the old and in with the new. Ok, so I haven't bought any new yarn for a while but I do have a consistent range of go to yarns that I have been using so they've stayed and all of the acrylic DK yarn and fancy bits and bobs from my uni days were sorted, tidied up and offered out for sale at bargain prices to you lovely lot in my Stash Buster Sale. As well as yarn there were books, papercrafts and sewing goodies to be had.

On the day, I roped two of my favourite girlies into helping me and we lugged boxes and boxes of crafty goodies in to the entrance of Tesco Bulwell Extra for a fun filled day of colour and creativity. The event ran from 11am - 2pm on Sunday 19th March, 2017.

Not only was my stash up for grabs on the two large sale tables there was the opportunity to enter the raffle and take part in my kids craft activity too.

The raffle went down really well and there were eight lucky winners who took home prizes. I think my fabulous sister, Gemma wins the medal for most tickets sold on the day! Here she is deep in ticket selling mode...

Something for the kids

Yarn is such a versatile material to work with, it comes in so many different textures, colours and fibres. I was keen to get the kids involved at this event and introduce them to the world of fibre arts. We're all familiar with knitting, crochet and weaving but what else can we use yarn for?

There are just far too many possibilities to consider so I headed off to Pinterest for inspiration. You can see a few of my favourite yarn based kids craft ideas here. In the end I opted to make paper plate dream catchers. It seemed the right choice of craft as the money we were raising could help make someones dreams come true.

What is a dream catcher? Dream catchers are arts and crafts of the Native American people and are usually decorated with beads and feathers. They are said to capture good spirits and allow the sleeper to have peaceful, beautiful dreams. This project just seemed perfect!

The girls and I mocked up a few samples for the event, probably more than we really needed but they were just so much fun to make! On the day we had a steady flow of mini crafters, I would like to introduce you to some of Bulwell's finest creatives...

Everyone that took part in our craft did such an amazing job. So much better than I could have ever imagined. Their designs were imaginative and the use of colour was to die for. Great job kids, I'm so proud of your well thought out designs, use of colour and pattern and I hope your dream catchers hang proudly above your beds to allow for wonderful dream filled sleep.

I love my pom pom beard!

Hands up who's been following my beard adventures on Instagram?! After seeing the pom pom beard created by Lauren O'Farell from Deadly Knitshade for the Mollie Makes Big Crafternoon Magazine I was in love. I knew instantly I had to make one of my own. My initial thoughts were to have a mini photobooth area at my event for people to use my pom pom beard and other wacky handmade props to take selfies but I just couldn't let go. I have grown fond of my beard and I did not want to share!

As you can see here and over on Instagram I have shared my beard with a special select few...

Thank You

I would like to thank everyone that made my fundraiser event a huge success. Thank you to everyone that purchased from my sale, everyone that entered my raffle, thank you to those that throw a pound or two into our buckets and a massive thank you to my very special helpers.

Gemma and Laura, I couldn't have done it all without you, you made the day fun and were super friendly, helpful sales girls. Thank you Dad for helping set up, taking photos and for donating all of the balloons to decorate the place. Thank you Sean for cutting out all of the paper plates for the kids crafts and for putting up with the mess at home whilst I prepared for the event. And finally thank you to Margaret for donating some of her stash to the sale to give you all an even more varied range of goodies to choose from.

hello@apriltowriess.co.ukThis event was a first for me and I feel it was a huge success. I hope to organise more family friendly events in the future as well as continue to build my monthly Crochet Clinic. Please let me know what you thought. What would you like to see next time? Would you like to get involved? Did you buy anything from the Stash Buster Sale?

Comment below or send an email to hello@apriltowriess.co.uk, I'd love to hear from you. If you're on social media and want to share your makes from your Stash Buster purchases please use hashtag #crochetaprilfundraiser, I can't wait to see the journey my stash has made!

Being In Colourful Company is the best kind of company!

Sunday was a fun day filled with colour. My fabulous friend Jo from Hello Sunshine, who I have been buddies with for fifteen years (bloomin fifteen years... where has that time gone!) invited me along to a wonderful event called In Colourful Company Nottingham.

I was so excited about joining in the fun. Having a child free day, with a bunch of creatives, what's not to be exciting about, right! I wasn't too sure what to expect. I had stalked the Facebook pages and browsed Instagram but I couldn't picture where our hosts would be taking us. The idea of the event is for a bunch of creatives to come together in their most colourful of clothing and explore a new city capturing the journey along the way. The event happens monthly (I think?!) so look out for one near you. I think the next one is in Leeds on 27th May.

I was ridiculously nervous beforehand but I'm so glad I went. I still have work to do when it comes to mingling and putting myself out there though. I didn't speak to many people outside of my group or join in many of the group photos or boomerangs but its a big bloomin start. I got to hang out with two of my oldest friends Jo and Sarah from Art foundation, put faces to the names I'd been following online as well as be overwhelmingly inspired by the entire day.

I often feel isolated, juggling everything in my life. Creativity is a huge part of me, within the day job as a graphic designer and marketing assistant, within family life (juggling home, activities, outings, meals, tantrums....!!!) and obviously within my crochet business, when I manage to squeeze in anytime that is. It often gets a little overwhelming at times. It was nice to take time out of real life and be inspired by my surrounding and the wonderful ladies I shared the day with, with no purpose other than to capture the moment and make a few new friends along the way. Bliss!

​Here is just a few of my favourite photos from the day....

Creative Buddies

Jo and I met on our Art foundation year and she is probably one of my biggest creative inspirations. We started out craft fairing together way back when, sharing tables and exciting adventures. (We've definitely done our fair share of dodgy craft fairs in our time.) I then went off to buy a house, become a wife and have babies and Jo turned her artistic vision into the amazing creative business she runs today. I bloody love this girl and her passion. We all need a bit of sunshine in our lives.

Colourful company is most definitely the best company to keep. I feel my style is pretty colourful, I like to express my creativity through what I wear but Sunday has made me realise creativity comes from within, it is beautiful when shared and I am so thankful to have been apart of such a wonderful event. I super hope to get along to more and meet these fabulous people again. Thank you to each and everyone of you that made Sunday's colourful photowalk a brilliant day out.